The diary of a Saudi man, currently living in the United Kingdom, where the Religious Police no longer trouble him for the moment.

In Memory of the lives of 15 Makkah Schoolgirls, lost when their school burnt down on Monday, 11th March, 2002. The Religious Police would not allow them to leave the building, nor allow the Firemen to enter.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Miss Saudi Arabia

The Muttawa have struck again. This time, it was a beauty pageant. A beauty pageant, in Saudi Arabia? Yes.

In a case of some serious gender bending, police foiled an underground beauty contest staged by men dressed like women right down to every detail late last week.Saudi police officers, who probably didn t see the humor in the event, broke up a crowd of gay men who were preparing for a beauty pageant at a rest house on the first day of Eid, according to Al-Watan, the Arabic language daily newspaper.Well, of course they didn't "see the humor". Never try and make the Muttawa laugh. They'll just arrest you.

What is a "Rest House"? A Rest House, or Rester, is like a bar without drink. There are dozens of them on the outskirts of the cities. It's where men go to get away from their families, drink coffee, watch TV, swim or play soccer in the bigger ones, chat, smoke sheesha pipes. And of course hold beauty pageants.

Police also found large quantities of evaluation sheets used to grade contestants unusual beauty. Points included height, weight, contour of the hips and skin color.There were also sheets to evaluate the sexiest gay. Large quantities of beauty products and make-up items, as well as sexy lingerie, underwear, a mobile phone, a quantity of aphrodisiacs and materials simulating feminine body parts were also found.....The offenders were dressed in female attire and were wearing make-up. Some of the young men were wearing wigs as well as sexy and tight underwear.So who was involved? Not "our boys", surely?

During the police raid, four Asians suspected to be the organizers, as well as a fifth, a Saudi national, were arrested.According to sources, the Saudi national signed a contract with the owner of the rest house in order to organize the contest.

The usual ratio, in other words. As it says in the Quran

"O believer! Four of you shall come from distant lands to toil and sweat from dawn til dusk, but the fifth, my chosen one, will sit upon a silk cushion, and drink coffee, and count the money."

I genuinely don't think it's "Gay". I genuinely think that it's a bunch of lonely guys on 3-year contracts away from their families, having some fun. What else is there to do? Watch TV?

Saudi TV 1. Here is an Imam talking about a passage from the Quran. Again.

Saudi TV 2. Here is a slow-motion replay of an incident in a local soccer match. Sorry, I was wrong, that's their full speed.

So they are just Asian immigrant workers getting a bit of fun where they can find it. But the Muttawa put a stop to that.

Now any Saudi, or indeed anyone from the Gulf, will immediately jump to a conclusion about what nationality was involved. We're not in the slightest PC. Strangely, though, the "Saudi Gazette" is being very coy. That's unusual. I won't spoil the fun by giving you the answer. I'm sure some commenters will jump in. But here's a clue. It will be one of the following